I-80 v Fed Ex

That's not the discussion. It's a contract / commision driver and his need to hustle / take chances to make a check vs a well paid driver union or not. Their safety and productivity records will be markedly different everytime and that's directly tied to his / her wage package.

Fedex green logo fly by me every night and are most commonly found in the ditch because they are cheaply paid (.32 ) and have to hustle to make a check. Brown does not, YRC does not, Walmart does not.

Well paid drivers have accidents, yes they do but if we compare csa scores I'll bet you won't find Walmart "running a radar detector" or with a "seatbelt violation" or even " failure to obey a traffic signal " or even "speeding " because they will take care of their well paid jobs.

JMO

 

Yes, yes, ignore the fact that none of their trucks could hustle if they tried since they're all governed. YRC was at 58 last I heard. It's totally because they're union, not the speed governors. Blah blah, hail union, bleh.

 

At the DC I work from as under the contracted carrier, the WalMart drivers do not:

Run temp control loads.

Throw chains or

Run loads that pick up after 1400.

We run all those loads for them. I don't complain about it. It's great work for me. But unless you know how it's set up and how the runs are divided up, you really don't understand why WalMart has such a stellar record. Their drivers don't have to take the chances we do. If they run into weather that requires chains, they shut down. We don't. If the road is open, we roll. If the load docks out at 0130, we roll. Their fleet has, on average, (at this DC) 12 years' experience.

To be fair, there are WalMart teams who run across Canada to various stores in Alaska. The trailers are specially set up specifically for Alaska. There are three axles on them with a rather wide spread. Only WalMart private fleet drivers haul those trailers.

But on the regional NorthWest stuff, you will see what I outlined above. This is not a dig on the WalMart guys. With their experience and records, they deserve to cherry pick their loads. As far as I'm concerned, they earned it. However, there is more to the safety equation than simply money. Most WalMart drivers have more pride than their common carrier counterparts. But they have to put up with a lot more political crap, too.

I make plenty of money hauling their wagons under Swift's authority. But that's not why my record is clear and my truck undamaged. My record and truck were that way before I ever thought of running WallyWagons. I never allowed someone else's opinion of the company I run for affect my pride.

If you continually tell somebody they are no good, they will be no good. Swifties and drivers for other large companies hear all the time how terrible of drivers they are, despite the CSA scores showing otherwise and despite their own clear records. Some are simply not strong enough to keep their heads up against such negativity. Me? I simply throw my own record back in the face of the person doing the picking. I've been out here for five years now. I know these trucks a lot better now than I did when I was brand new. I won't say I will never make a mistake or do something stupid. I am just as capable of judgment lapse as anybody. But I am far less likely than a brand noob fresh out of school.

You want to help make better drivers and safer roads? How about encouraging people to do better rather than pick at them for whatever perceived shortcomings they might have? Be constructive rather than condescending. And stop looking down your nose at people who, once upon a time, were your peers. If you don't, you'll get one heck of a crick in your neck.

 

at smoothshifter

 

So did anybody besides the fedex driver see the deer

 

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKUDTPbDhnA[/ame]